A/N: Whenever I loose my voice, I always write down what I need to say on a sheet of paper. 'Nuff said. ;) Enjoy! No flames, please.
"Elphie, what's this?" Galinda asked, picking up a crumpled stack of papers from beneath her bed. Her roommate was sprawled on her own bed, recently recovered from a bad case of laryngitis that had literally rendered her speechless all day.
Elphaba examined the scrap quietly. "It's my talking paper," she rasped, "I used it to communicate when I couldn't speak." She sighed. "Which I shouldn't be doing now."
"Oops! Sorry!" Galinda said, plopping back on her bed. "Can I read it?"
"Good luck figuring it out," Elphaba said weakly, before going into a coughing fit. Galinda tossed her friend a water bottle with orders for her to keep quiet, and then turned back to the paper. Elphaba had luckily labeled everything as to not cause confusion, that nice little perfectionist.
To anyone: I lost my voice. That's it.
Avaric: Get out of my seat, or I will not hesitate to kick you as hard as I can.
Good boy.
Boq: Yeah, I did. How's Nessa?
Good. Tell her I say hi when you next see her.
The answer is the Great Drought.
You're welcome.
Yeah, see you at lunch. Bye.
Fiyero: Go away.
No, I don't care. Leave me alone.
Can't you take a hint?
Of course. Why did I even ask?
No, I don't need any help. (Galinda then noticed messy scribbling.)
"Elphie, why'd you scribble here?" she asked, pointing out the messy lines. Elphaba smiled dryly.
"Fiyero took my books." She rolled her eyes. "Your boyfriend is a chivalrous fool."
Galinda went back to reading, picking up when she saw Avaric's name.
Avaric: I don't need this right now. Go away.
Can't you read? I lost my voice, imbecile.
It means idiot.
I don't care.
Any better names?
That's what I thought.
"And then I hit him with my books," Elphaba rasped gleefully. Galinda threw a pillow at her roommate, whose eyes were dancing with laughter since anything that required pushing her voice was out of the question. Galinda continued scanning through the notes, looking for something interesting, and for a while, all she found was a few short words for other students she didn't know too well. She knew when she got to Elphaba's free time, chuckling at the familiar names.
Milla: Chapter 3, page 476
Fiyero: I still can't talk, thanks for asking.
Avaric: "Artichoke" is getting awfully old. Get some new material.
ShenShen: Galinda's in Astronomy.
She's studying stars, hun.
Okay, I'll tell her.
"By the way, did you ever get the message?" Elphaba asked. Galinda nodded. ShenShen needed to borrow shoes for a date.
Fiyero: What, are you stalking me now? Go away!
How chivalrous of you.
It's sarcasm.
You're a prince, you should know what chivalrous means.
Then go look it up! Oz, you're such a pest!
Whatever . . . what do you want?
Well, in case you haven't noticed, I can't talk right now, so you might as well go away.
Can't you take a hint, Tiggular? I've said this already.
Of course not. Why don't you go play with Galinda or something?
Bye.
"Why'd he finally go away?" Galinda asked. Elphaba shrugged.
"He had to go to class."
"Aren't you supposed to not talk?" Galinda scolded.
"You asked me a question," the green girl pointed out, returning to her book. Galinda sighed and continued to browse. For a while all she could find were small scribbles, but noticed an increasing pattern. Fiyero's name kept popping up more and more throughout the pages, and her rebukes grew more and more weary. She sighed. Her boyfriend was so kind and dreamy . . .
Boq: Hey, do you have the notes from Life Sciences? I gave mine to Galinda to study, but I think she lost them and I need to copy them down.
Thanks!
Fiyero: No, I still can't speak. But my fists are perfectly fine.
Pfannee: Yes, I lost my voice.
Do I seem like the kind of person who would be stupid enough to drown myself in alcohol at a party full of people who hate me?
That's right.
Galinda: No, it hasn't come back. Thanks for asking.
Can I have my notes back?
Of course.
It's alright, I got them from Boq.
Madame: I'll have to skip Sorcery today. I'm sick.
Thank you for understanding, ma'am.
Fiyero: No, I'm fine. If I made it through my last two classes without speaking and carrying my books on my own I can handle myself perfectly fine for the rest of the day.
Go away!
Galinda: Yeah. Oh, ShenShen had a message for you, I forgot!
Fiyero: Why must you insist on carrying my books? I can take care of myself, you know.
Just go away, okay?
Look, I appreciate it, but please, just leave me alone!
Go and be deeply shallow, or whatever you call it. I don't need this right now.
Oz, you are the most annoying male I know! Go away!
Avaric: Oh great, another one. Go.
When I said go, I meant go away.
Fiyero: Thank you.
"Oooh, why are you thanking Fiyero?" Galinda squeaked. Elphaba blushed and shrugged.
"Avaric called me Artichoke again, and Fiyero defended me."
"What did he say?"
"He told Avaric to shut up, and to go away."
"Awww!" Galinda gushed, clapping and jumping up and down on the bed. "How fantastical!" Elphaba sighed and leaned back, laying down and closing her eyes. A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in!" Galinda called. The door creaked open, and Fiyero's head popped in. Elphaba groaned and buried her face in a pillow.
"Make it go away!" She hissed.
"Ouch," Fiyero muttered, but brightened up quickly. "I see you got your voice back!"
"Yes, I did," Elphaba rasped, "And so now I can tell you to go, and write it down. Or, if you want, I can kick you out, and make it very painful."
"Elphie!" Galinda gasped. Her roommate just glared at Fiyero.
"Someone's not in a good mood today," Fiyero teased. Galinda sighed. Fiyero loved teasing Elphaba to the point of exploding, and she just couldn't figure out why!
"Well, you know." She paused for effect, smirking at the poor Vinkun prince, "Irritation can bring out the worst in people."
"I was just trying to help, sheesh!" Fiyero said meekly, sitting down on Galinda's bed. "But really, how are you feeling? Need me to fetch you anything?"
"I'm fine," Elphaba said, before breaking into a fit of coughing. Fiyero grabbed a sheet of paper from Elphaba's spiral. Elphaba reached for it, but he held it above his head, grinning. Elphaba sighed and plopped back down as another fit of coughing took hold of her.
"Okay," he said as he wrote, "Cough medicine, a teddy bear, and some soup, right?" Galinda nodded.
"A teddy bear?" Galinda asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't you dare!" Elphaba added, her eyes narrowing into slits.
"You look like you could use some cheering up," Fiyero said, tapping her nose gently with his finger, "You're sick."
Galinda watched him leave with a sparkle in her eye. "Isn't he great?"
She didn't hear Elphaba's reply.
I'll be posting alternate versions of this as well, so keep your eyes open!